The Long Lost
by Darth Phex
Summary: This frigid world had already managed to consume Skyfire, leaving behind no trace of existence.  To whom did he need to preserve his own life?  It would be so much simpler to accept his own demise…
1. Chapter 1

A new Transformers fanfic from me to you. This one is an AU of sorts looking at the relationship between G1 Starscream and Skyfire, and how the tragedy that befell them in the Arctic Circle might have been different. In a non-happy way that is. I know this prompt has been done to death, but this fic has been demanding to be written, (and it couldn't have picked a worse time considering I'm in finals right now). Hope to get the next chapter up within a week or less. Reviews would be very much appreciated!

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><p>Wind whipped in violent torrents around alien forms, tearing at protective panels and stripping paint painfully off of living hulls. Roaring torrents of ice, snow, and cutting wind blasted into Starscream's frame, jerking him to and fro like a flimsy bit of tin foil.<p>

A particularly vicious gust sent the seeker hurdling towards his larger shuttle companion who only narrowly missed the collision with some quick maneuvering.

Starscream let out a shriek of indignation at the storm he and his partner where battling through (and loosing badly to), but soon found the act pointless when his voice was stolen from the air by howling winds.

Unsatisfied with this occurrence, the agitated jet decided to internalize his frustration. That is to say, he channeled his complaints over to Skyfire.

"This Primus forsaken rock is trying to kill us!" He spate over the comlink with as much venom as he could muster under the freezing conditions.

"If I remember correctly, it was you, Starscream, who insisted on navigating this planets artic circle", Skyfire remarked in kind. He was unable to contain the bitter inflections in his speech patterns, no matter how miniscule they where. It would have been easy to place the blame on the smaller.

The massive white shuttle was finding it hard to keep his bearings in the freak blizzard. The planet their exploration had led them to was still fairly young by cybertronian standards, and as such was still going through some particularly violent changes. A massive storm front had thus manifested around the northern hemisphere with a berserker's enthusiasm, right in their path.

This had, however failed to intimidate his headstrong companion, who had persisted that scanning and investigating the polar cap would undoubtedly turn up _something_ worthwhile. After much deliberation, (or rather grousing on the seekers part) Skyfire had agreed to a quick rendezvous over the pole to placate his sullen partner.

It was easy to see that both flyers were sorely regretting their agreed upon route. While Skyfire's bulk helped to fair off the worst of the gale force, it lacked considerably in maneuverability and efficiency. Likewise, Starscream's compact, aerodynamically crafted frame built for reaching break-neck speeds, was perpetually being tossed about like a sparkling plaything.

Additionally, the temperatures where turning deadly. Sub-zero conditions where nothing new to exploratory vessels. Their frames where specially insulated to withstand the very vacuum of space, which was much colder than anything this planet could boast.

It was, in fact, the constant build up of ice along their outer extremities that was the real problem. The layering of water particles, in an ever-constant state of melting and freezing along their metal hides, on the wings and sensory sensor nodes in particular, that was causing their bodies considerable damage. If the storm kept on like this, there was no telling what horrors exposure to these harsh elements would inflict.

"I never thought the weather would have changed so rapidly! The atmospheric conditions were optimal when we set out not even two cycles ago!" Starscream all but snarled through the comlink.

Skyfire understood that any verbal stabs directed his way by this point where more born out of agitation (and possible growing fear) at the storm then true distaste between the two explorers. "I too felt that the flight would have met no complications." He sent back in an effort to soothe the seekers frazzled nerves. "There's little point in reflection on that at this point. Let us concentrate our efforts on the task at hand. Hopefully this will blow-over soon."

Starscream's only response was an undignified huff before resuming radio silence. The larger couldn't help but chuckle good-naturedly at his friend's antics, even under the dire circumstances. To his knowledge, Skyfire was the only bot alive who could foster any kind of compliance, however reluctant it may be, from the ill-tempered terrajet.

Even over the many vorns they had worked together as scientific partners and friends, the seeker had always maintained a somewhat childish disposition. While many others were turned off by this chronic petulance, Skyfire himself only found it more enduring as the cycles went by. And every-so-often, as a kind of reward for his patience, Starscream would display a genuine affection for the shuttle; something, he was sure, no one else had ever experienced.

As a team, they where unstoppable. Showing up every other bot at the Science Academy and claiming their place rightfully at the top of their shared field. So it was only then natural for the pair to enthusiastically leap at the change to head out on a scientific exploration together.

Skyfire felt his spark warm at the memory of Starscream's giddy exuberance at the prospect. They had both been grinning like idiots for cycles after the counsel had proposed the trip to unknown worlds.

The shuttle was shaken from his nostalgia when, if possible, the blizzard's attack suddenly intensified. Releasing a strangled cried of surprise, he found his mass battered in the turbulence of crushing headwinds.

Already scattered sensors fluctuated like mad, sending him into a dizzying half blind state. It briefly registered in his mind that the jet just off his right side was sent spinning threw the air in a series of jarring twists that would ripe the wings right off of a lesser flier.

"Starscream! This is getting out of hand! We have to make for the ground!"

A garbled mass of static was all that greeted him through the comlink. Cold dread sank to the bottom on Skyfire's tanks as a million different scenarios ran circles in his mind.

As he wrestled for altitude, several neural sensors flared red before blinking out of existence. Now Skyfire _really_ began to panic. He was, for all intents and purposes, blind while in his alt-mode. The gravity of the situation was slowly absorbed through his numb processors. With no clear indications of where the sky ended and the ground began, he was as vulnerable to the swirling torrents as mere organic debris.

"Starscream, can you read me? My sensors are down! Starscream!"

Static. No such luck. It occurred to Skyfire just then that Starscream may have become incapacitated and in a dire situation of his own.

In complete desperation the shuttle initiated his transformation sequence in a last ditch effort for stabilization. Only too late did he realize that most, if not all of his transformation seams and cogs where frozen over as they ground against one another into place.

Upon reaching his bipedal form, Skyfire was utterly paralyzed. The thrusters on his back shuttered to a stop.

With one last look heavenward, optics searching desperately for a familiar red form, the shuttle plummeted to the ice below.


	2. Chapter 2

I apologize for the long wait for this chapter! I finished it about a week after the first, but then my beta reader went on an extended vacation. Anyway, here's the main bit of the story in Starscream's pov. Only the epilogue after this. This is the first time I've ever written any semblance of a slash scene, so go easy on me. At the risk of sounding needy (and repetitive), reviews would be so very much appreciated! Enjoy!

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><p>Joors came and left leaving little difference in the patterns of the raging storm. For all Starscream knew, an entire stellar cycle could have passed by since Skyfire had last been detectable within sensor range. With nothing to measure the passage of time in this frozen expanse, except for ever declining fuel readings, the seeker was lost to the battering winds.<p>

Common sense eventually chimed in, pointedly explaining that if he were to survive to see the end of the storm, protective measures would have to be enacted now, if not long beforehand. Panic and strain had left the jet's body fatigued and mind numb to the point of warnings blaring across sensor nets. Their programing insistently feeding him increase percentages of systems failure the longer he maintained flight in his current dilapidated state.

Giving in to his weariness, Starscream made his half-hazard decent to the icy world below with the confident notion that Skyfire, in his infinite insight, probably bunkered down somewhere nearby in order to likewise wait out the elements.

Spotting an adequate shelter of raised ice formed into a crescent shield, Starscream initiated his transformation sequence before touching down. His makeshift enclave boldly blocked out a good portion of the winds wrath, leaving the air bitter cold but mostly tolerable. Had Starscream chosen to investigation further, he would have noted that the walls had been hewn in a manner not found in natural circumstances.

But as such, the seeker's systems were already cycling into a light, self-imposed stasis, the repairing of damaged circuitry already underway. With a heavy sigh, his body fell into recharge, leaving Starscream blissfully ignorant of a white and red wing tip jutting from the ice wall not thirty feet from where he lay, soon to be crusted over beyond recognition in frost.

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><p>Daybreak (or what could be considered as such given the feeble illumination of a barley detectable star) found the end of the freak blizzard. Winds were still whipping about Starscream's frame, but at a decelerated rate that was virtually harmless to his cybertronian body.<p>

Having just weather through one of the worst recharge cycles of his existence, the seeker was hardly eager to face the present task. Hauling weight up onto unsteady peds, he rapidly rattled his outer armor plates, dislodging icicles and debris from his exterior. He sighed in relief after shucking off the extra weight of frozen water particles.

A quick check of his fuel reserves revealed that he was running at 75% capacity. Gunmetal lips twitched downwards slightly in unease. The storm had run him down to a quarter tank in one go. (Then again, there was no telling how long he had spent in recharge). It was a good thing he had decided to land when he did otherwise his systems could have been knocked out entirely, simply through the stress of trying to maintain altitude.

Now he just had to find Skyfire and they could get their afts out this Primus forsaken snowball!

Scanning the desert of white that ran in every direction, Starscream quickly laid out a game plan in his head. If a storm began to manifest once more he would need the shelter that his enclave provided.

Calculating out the pros and cons, Starscream made up his mind and directed a low energy pulse from his ingrained weapons system at the ground. Not enough to blast a hole right through, but just enough to leave a blackened carbon residue along the surface, no doubt noticeable by air.

Now if Starscream needed to return for any reason he could find his refuge once more. In an added bonus, if Skyfire happened to see the mark, he would immediately know that Starscream was nearby and head straight for it.

That taken care of, the seeker disembarked from his newly established dwellings. Running a short distance through the snow and slush before kicking off into the air and transforming. Powerful thrusters sent him rocketing off into a monotonous alabaster expanse before all was quite once more.

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><p>The sky had darkened considerably by the time the red terrajet arrived back at his ice-laden shelter. As far as he could guess joors had passed since he had first set out, and he had not caught a single sight of his shuttle companion.<p>

It didn't help matters the giant's white frame offered up a perfect camouflage to blend with the snow. If Skyfire had gotten himself injured and subsequently grounded, the scant red that highlighted various portions of his frame wouldn't be enough to flag Starscream's attention from the air.

He cursed his misfortune under frozen breathe before assessing the few options at present.

His internal chronometer had been forcibly shut down due in part to damages sustained in the blizzard. This left his only means of telling the passage of time with the feeble rays from the plant's star. That, and of course, the grim reminder from his fuel tanks that energon was in short supply.

He yet again cursed his foul luck when remembering that the single energon converter that had been brought along on the expedition remained with Skyfire, wherever that may be.

At the time his companion's advice that energon cubes would be too inefficient, had seemed practical. They would instead carry a single energon converter to conserve valuable space needed to bring samples and test results home when their exploration had reached its conclusion. As if that wasn't bad enough, Skyfire had graciously insisted that he be the one to stow said converter in his own subspace.

"_After all, Starscream, I'm a shuttle designed for the transportation of extra cargo. It would be absurd for you to have to haul it around yourself."_

Hindsight was a cruel fragger. Any experienced exploration team would have recognized the importance behind equipping all members with their own personal energon converters. That being said, Starscream and Skyfire were not experienced. They were a couple of gung-ho amateurs fresh out of the academy with a hot new assignment that made all of their peers green with envy.

And that's probably how they would die.

Starscream shook his helm violently to discourage such invasive thoughts. Skyfire was going to get an audio full for making the seeker worry like this.

Glancing up at the sky, Starscream let air circulate heavily through intake valves. It was getting dark enough that visibility would become far too diminished to continue searching at present. On the plus side, the weather had cleared to the point that the outer atmosphere was now fairly visible. Up there somewhere was Cybertron, and after Skyfire is found and this minor setback concluded, they would be given a hero's welcome home.

Checking his fuel readings again, broadcast a drop of 10%, leaving him at little over half a tank. Great. At 45% non-essential systems would be shut down for conservation of energon. At 30% he would probably become unable to fly entirely. He shuddered to think at what his body would be forced to go through at 25 or less…

Tomorrow, he resolved, he would force himself to ensure that his aerial sweeps where more efficient. No more swooping in and out of cloud banks and back tracking for miles on end.

Getting comfortable, (if that was at all possible), on the icy ground of his temporary shelter, Starscream stared off into the sky, mesmerized momentarily by the lightshow of an aurora dancing lazily threw the atmosphere. Acknowledging the sight as a good omen, the seeker stretched a servo along the ice wall closest to him and scratched a thin vertical line into its surface.

"Megacycle one", he murmured to himself before a deep recharge took him.

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><p><strong>Megacycle III<strong>

It had been quite some time since he had last seen Skyfire. Unease began to seep through his meta like a virus. If that big oaf had actually been actively searching for Starscream as he himself was then they would have crossed paths by this point. This meant that either Skyfire had gone and gotten himself injured or worse…

No. Knowing that absent-minded shuttle, he had probably found some truly _fascinating_ bit of organic life to study.

"_Nearly four megacycles! Apologies Starscream, I got so wrapped up in researching this indigenous bit of fauna that I lost track of the time."_

A ghost of a smile creased the gray lips. Dear gentle Skyfire would then of course attempt to pacify Starscream's tempore by coughing up the stupid energon converter. The jet even indulged himself in a snicker at the idea of using said precious bit of fauna as the converters fuel source.

Starscream would then explain to Skyfire why he should never _ever_ do something so stupid again. That conversation would no doubt best be summed up in a curled servo right to the stupid shuttle's faceplates. Wouldn't want him to go and state thinking Starscream had gone all soft while he was away, now would he?

With a sigh through his intake valves, Starscream pressed on with his search.

After several of this planet's rotations had been completed the seeker had found that he could no longer safely transform into his terejet alt mode. This had come as a curse and a saving grace.

Now the seeker was forced to move more slowly than before, taking this opportunity to search the white expanse more thoroughly. This also made his red frame far more visible from the ground, ensuring better detectability.

On the other hand, his delicate internal wiring was exposed far more to the freezing elements. This is, in fact, was what had knocked out his sensor grid, leaving him blind in his alt mode, a very real danger for any cybertronian.

As it was, he was forced to remain in his bipedal form, leaving him with a creeping sense of vulnerability. At any rate, there was no point in dwelling on matters that couldn't be changed.

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><p><strong>Megacycle V?<strong>

The last two days had left Starscream holdup in his ice wall refuge. Winds had picked up to a screaming gale that, while not nearly as ferocious as the initial blizzard, would prove lethal to navigate in his current exposed state.

He had had no choice but to abandon all hope of searching for his friend until the snowstorm blew itself out. With no means of being productive, Starscream was left to his ever darkening thoughts.

At this rate it was safe to assume that Skyfire was badly injured, perhaps forced into stasis lock, somewhere out there in the freezing temperatures.

Unbidden, an image rose up to the forefront of his mind of Skyfire's fortress like body, made brittle and snapping into shards as ice ate him up limb by limb, stating with his wings…

The seeker physically cried out at as anxiety flooded his mind, leaving him cycling shorter and shorter intakes. Drawing his legs up to his chest, he backed himself up to the nearest wall, the one, he absently noted, he had been keeping track of the passage of time on.

It was all pointless now. With the storm shifting and uprooting entire dunes of packed snow, there would be no physical sign of the shuttle by the end. If Skyfire were really out there, he would be buried by the end.

An acute pain in his tanks alerted the despairing seeker to a reawakened predicament. His fuel tank was now registering 38% capacity. The symptoms of energon starvation where beginning to take their toll.

Hugging his legs for warmth, Starscream thought back to the last time he had been given the privilege of consuming a cube of highgrade.

"_That yellow femme over there has been looking like she wants to eat you ever since we arrived."_

_Starscream was startled out of his slumped posture as his long time friend slid into the space across from him with two massive blue energon cubes. _

"_And if you ask me, she even looks over-energized enough to try", the shuttle finished with a gulp of his own drink._

"_Yeah, well no one asked you, ya big oaf", Starscream pouted as he cautiously sniffed at the contents of his own cube._

"_I promise it wont bite. At least, not much."_

_Gingerly, the seeker raised his cube and took a sip. He then doubled over in a coughing fit, trying to clear his intakes of the fiery kick that now sank to the bottom of his fuel tanks._

"_Primus Starscream, I was only joking! Don't think that femme has the hots for you after that show", Skyfire laughed good-naturedly as he rubbed comforting circles into his spasming friend's wings from across the table._

"_Good. Don't like her. She has the face a petro-rabbit with overgrown dental plates. What the frag is this stuff anyway?"_

"_Ah, that would be a new blend that Wheeljack's been passing around. If I told you what's in it, I'd have to kill you."_

"_Primus! Please tell me I wont spontaneously combust tomorrow! We only have one Orn left before we've got to ship out on this expedition, and there's plenty still to be done without needing my aft pieced back together."_

"_Good stuff though, isn't it?", Skyfire observed as the smaller took another swig from his cube._

"_Whatever. As long as it gets me energized off my aft, its doing it's job", Starscream snorted before taking a bolder gulp of the azure liquid._

"_That's the spirit Star! Drink up, for tonight is about us and all of our successes to come!"_

And they had drank all right. A faint smile brushed Starscream's lips in the memory of that night. It had taken the pair of them a couple of joors to complete the awkward journey to their shared quarters back at the academy dorms from the mess hall.

Laughing like complete idiots at every little thing they could think of. Ignoring the dirty looks shot their way and the hisses of _"Do you have any idea what time it is?"_ in favor of prolonging their companionable good spirits.

They had everything they could ever want. Their names written down in academy history, the chance to change Cybertron for the better, each other…

"_At that point I had had to explain the entire cybernetic theory in front of the whole class for this glitch-head of a professor to understand where he went wrong", Starscream ended with an uncharacteristic giggle fit, doubled over on the floor._

"_And I bet you enjoyed every second of it. I bet if that glossa of yours was any sharper we could use it to cut through iridium" Skyfire snickered from where he had flopped down atop his berth. _

_Starscream smiled slyly from the floor. "Wouldn't you like to know."_

"_I would."_

_In a move that had surprised them both, Skyfire had reached down and cupped the befuddled seekers chin before smashing their lips together. _

_The smaller could do nothing more than gape openly at his friend's forward approach, inadvertently encouraging his inebriated companion to continue_._ After a few moments of awkward kissing, Starscream had decided that he was too drunk (and Skyfire too cute) to really give a frag either way._

Things had gotten hazy by that point, but little was left to the imagination when in the morning Starscream woke to find himself draped like a damp cloth over Skyfire's chest and an overwhelming migraine throbbing through his circuits.

The seeker smiled fondly at the memory of Skyfire sputtering out apology after horribly embarrassed apology once he had been awakened by a bewildered seeker falling off the side of his birth.

_After gathering his thoughts, Starscream would have been somewhat amused by the absurdity of it all, had the shuttle's constant chatter not aggravated his hangover. After some silent deliberation Starscream decided to shut up his companion in such a way that would convey he's opinion of the present situation. _

_He had kissed the giant senseless._

And thus began an awkward albeit thrilling new aspect of their relationship. When Skyfire had tried to ask what that now made the two, Starscream had simply replied that they would just have to find out.

Now more than ever Starscream wanted to be back in Skyfire's sheltering embrace. Away from snow and ice. Away from this pit-spawned planet. For now he would have to make due with his own frosted over servos for any semblance of warmth.

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><p><strong>Megacycle VII?<strong>

The second storm had finally petered off by midday, leaving behind gentle swirling winds that caressed the huddled red frame, easing systems slowly into the waking world. Dimly lit red optics fizzled blurrily for a few astroseconds before forcibly resetting into their proper functional patterns.

It was beginning. While the level of inactivity during the storm had, to an extent, helped to conserve a certain amount of energon, it had not been without consequences. His systems where now running at 31%.

Ducking his head back down into his curled up body, Starscream released a helpless whimper. The choices before him where now evident: fly away back to Cybertron while there was still enough fuel in his lines to survive the journey, or remain to continue the search, all the while walking the precipice between failure and sweet success. Between life and death.

Looking up at the atmosphere just beyond his reach, Starscream couldn't help but think about how if Skyfire might be back at Cybertron right now, assembling up a search team to find his long lost exploration companion.

In his spark, however, Starscream knew that that was not the case. Skyfire was somewhere, out in the blanket of white that amassed in all direction. He was probably more injured, cold, and terrified than Starscream could ever imagine.

Once again, flickering images of a body crafted in ice racked through his mind. Faceplates twisted into screams silenced forever by crystals.

He would not leave him like that. Never. He seldom admitted it, even to himself let alone the gentle shuttle, but Skyfire meant the world to Starscream. And he would comb the world over before giving up on him.

With a hardened resolve, the stiff form rose from the snowdrift that had encircled his frame and set out, determined to find his friend.

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><p><strong>Megacycle ?<strong>

Frost gently cascaded around the forlorn figure. Starscream lay along his front, cockpit scraping painfully along ice with each ragged ventilation. Limbs sprawled out half-hazardly, not having moved since he collapsed.

Throbbing pain dulled out the rest of his senses, a blessing really, considering the internal damage frost was inflicting on the sensitive nobs in his wings.

They were now dead hunks of metal strapped to his back, the very thought of which would have driven him beyond insanity had he the energy to care.

His last-ditch efforts to find Skyfire had turned up nothing. Starscream had searched on foot for megacycles on end, refusing his body the chance to rest, until, at last, he found his friend.

But that didn't happen. His pursuit had been fruitless, needlessly depleting the last of his energon stores. He had just enough presence of mind to stumble his way back to his frozen shelter, probably out of some deep seeded need for familiarity.

Now at less than 18% capacity, by all rights he should be deactivated. A shell to be swallowed up by space and time, packed carelessly underneath countless tons of snow and ice.

In the end, did it really matter? This frigid world had already managed to consume Skyfire, leaving behind no trace of existence. To whom did he need to preserve his own life? It would be so much simpler to accept his own demise.

Shuttering his optics one last time, Starscream felt warmth flood his system. He would be back in Skyfire's arms soon enough. Back at the academy on Cybertron. Safe. Shielded and loved, without a care in the world.

If only it was that simple.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the last chapter! I call it a chapter because it turned out a little too long to write off as a epilogue. (considering it's longer than the first chapter.) Well here you have "the conclusion", I'll call it. I would like to give thanks to my lovely Beta reader Amyspirit, who enthusiastically read my chapters and berated my grammar. I must have watched "Fire in the Sky" a dozen times to get the feel for this chapter. Skyfire may seem a little OOC in this one, especially regarding his reaction to Megatron. (If you notice, it's a little Starscreamish) I'll let you go now. Enjoy and please r&r if you don't mind!

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><p>Black oblivion gave way to a numb awareness.<p>

Subtle sensations tugged at the perceptions of his mind, leaving his circuits tingling with waking energy.

Vaguely, he wondered what could possibly have generated enough energy to awaken him from his imprisoning slumber. The last thing he remembered was the extensive damage to many of his motor relays, resulting in a crippling paralysis. Trapped within his own body, gravity had taken over and sent him plummeting to, what he had assumed was, his death.

System readouts scrolled sluggishly past his off-line optics, recounting resent repairs and (Primus be blessed) full fuel tanks of energon. With each passing moment clarity became easier to grasp on to.

Murmured voices encompassed him along with the dull din, vaguely associated with repair or construction. Perhaps if he focused his audio units more sharply some familiarity could be deciphered?

"Again! This time, a million volts!"

_Starscream?_

The electricity hit him with about, well, as much force as his initial crash had. Instead of rending and ripping through his body, however, the sudden flood of energy jump-started all systems activity into high gear. He now had the strength to be lifted from the void of stasis.

He grunting out of discontentment as long under-used limbs protested any sudden attempt to sit up. Optics flickered on, reset a few times, and focused upon the stranger crowed about.

Gazing briefly about at his current whereabouts, "What happened?" was the fist thing his raspy vocalizer could manage.

After a few moments of silence from the bot's that surrounded the make-shift berth underneath which he sat his scanning optics, spotted two seekers in the crowd. Their alt-forms where unfamiliar and coloration odd, being one purple and the other blue, but perhaps…?

"Starscream?", he whispered nearly inaudibly before he could stop himself. The purple one started a little at the utterance, glancing sideways at his blue companion. Both their expression grew solemn.

A silver bot off to the side quickly interjected, announcing himself to be Megatron. "Supreme leader of the Decepticons", he remarked with a smug gesture at the mechs gathered around the enclosed room.

The silence following such an exclamation caught up to him. "I'm Skyfire", he offered distractedly.

He still had no clear idea as to where he was. The ice walls made it apparent that they were not far off from his crash sight. But why then would he not have been taken back to Cybertron before being awakened? And for that matter, where was Starscream? Surely his friend had to be somewhere around here.

"I see that you must be confused about your present circumstances. Come with me, Skyfire. I will answer any questions you might have", Megatron offered with a wide smile.

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><p>Gone.<p>

Everything Skyfire had ever known of Cybertron was gone. Apparently broken into smithereens, leaving an ashen husk behind in space.

Only he had missed that part, having been locked away on this organic world for millennia. Blissfully preserved while his world went to the pit. All that was left of his people were scattered factions of a never-ending war. The very fact that cybertronians had managed to navigate the cosmos and find his frozen body was testimony to the scale of time already consumed by fighting.

No news of Starscream either. When questioned about his partner's whereabouts, Megatron had simply stated that he had never even heard of the designation.

Something about that nature of such an answer rang false with the shuttle though. The charismatic silver leader, while impressive by normal standers, only came up to Skyfire's chest in stature. The shuttle found himself hardly amused by the gunformer's insistence that he be integrated into this war by joining the Decepticons.

"_As would only be fair, considering that we saved your life!"_, Megatron had stressed after Skyfire's pacifistic nature had surfaced in a protest.

Clearly _Lord_ Megatron was not use to having his orders questioned. Leader of a pack of drones was more like it.

With a certain amount of bitterness, Skyfire had taken an offered rife and set out to "patrol" the perimeter for autobots, a faction, Megatron had assured him, which was much worse by comparison.

Skyfire miserably wondered how much better off been if just left in the ice.

His grim thought dissipated when his optics spotted a familiar purple seeker motioning at him from a snow bank about a hundred feet from base.

Slowly, so as not to attract unneeded attention (which was nearly impossible given his giant frame) Skyfire made his was over to the gesturing bot. Upon rounding the snow bank the shuttle was presented with the yawning maw of a snow cave, so large, he ventured absently, that he could probably walk upright, with plenty of extra wing space.

The purple and blue seekers where waiting at the entrance, eyeing him warily. They introduced themselves as Skywarp and Thundercracker before ushering him inside the cavern.

"Your friend, Starscreech was it?"

"Starscream. What about him?", Skyfire's tanks gave an uncomfortable twist at the sound of his friend's name.

"Little guy? Red and white?" Skywarp hedged, voice tightening slightly.

Skyfire whirled on the seeker, pinning him to the nearest wall, gently albeit, but securely. He had never felt more anxious in his life.

"You _know_ him? You know _where_ he is?"

"Hey, ease up you stupid glitch! And shut your mouth! Do want the whole army to know we're in here?", Skyward spate back, immediately on the defensive.

Skyfire let go of the struggling jet and took a tentative step backwards. In that one moment he had been so sickeningly reminded of his friend that he couldn't bear to look the other two fliers in the eye.

"Is he here?", he asked shakily, "is he ok?"

The two seekers once again exchanged looks, silently conversing. At last the one called Thundercracker gestured, once again, that he follow.

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><p>They made it to a larger chamber within the cavern, the back wall of which, as it appeared, had been recently melted and chiseled at. The resulting gap left behind bore a resemblance to the general shape and size of Skyfire's own body.<p>

A shiver ran up his circuits at the very thought.

As the shuttle's optics reacquainted themselves with the icy tomb, the two others had made their way over to a mass on the ground nearby. He was quickly snapped to his senses as the sound of snow being scrapped off metal rend the still air.

Faceplates scrunched in confusion, Skyfire made his way over to the crouching seekers.

That is, at least, until he made out the frosted over outline of a white wing.

Sprinting the rest of the way, the two seekers hastily retreated as the shuttle crashed to his knees before the form. Optics darted to and fro over the huddled mass, servos shaking as the hovered just above the figure.

He was only dimly aware of the hysterical sounds and exclamations that must have poured from his vocalizer. Servos finally under some semblance of control began frantically scrapping the snow and ice that had been caked on over millions of years.

* * *

><p>It must have gone on for joors like this because when Skyfire opened his optics once again he found that he had been curled up next to his friend's fallen form, no doubt having over exerted himself and descended into recharge. His servos had been rubbed down to the base derma-metal in his distraught state, all traces of paint along the palms rubbed clean. His vocalizer was even more damaged given the screaming he had done. Skywarp and Thundercracker had long since tried to placate his violent state and left him to grieve.<p>

The idea that Starscream was dead had crossed his mind several times in the few joors since he had been rescued from the ice. In this new war torn reality, it had been a real possibility that had saddened his spark. But the concept that such a head-strong and free willed individual had died out in the cold, searching long and hard for his fallen companion, mere feet from his goal, tore him apart.

His little star had died in vain.

Gingerly reaching down, Skyfire lifted Starscream's upper body into his lap. Death and prolonged exposure to the elements had made the form stiff, but this did not deter the now silent mourner.

Looking down into the face of his beloved, Skyfire noted that there was no clichéd angelic look of serenity as everyone always swears by.

"_He looks at peace. Like he's only sleeping."_

No. The faceplates were drawn in and pinched into a pained grimace, one that never should have adorned the little flier's visage. The expression spoke volumes about the grinding cold that was suffered up until the very end.

Wrapping his arms tight around the seeker, Skyfire rocked back and forth, cradling him, whispering broken and empty promises into unhearing audios. After several long moments like this, the shuttle stood.

His long time friend and love did not deserve the fate that had so tragically snuffed out his spark, and he most certainly did not deserve to be left out, forgotten in the snow. He would make his final farewells and move forward.

"_Besides_", Skyfire thought with a sad smile, _"that is what Starscream would be yelling at me to do anyway."_

The smile broadened, unwillingly assaulted by the image of his old friend chastising him from the Matrix itself.

First thing was first. With one swift wrench the purple Decepticon emblem that had adorn his chest was sent drifting to the snow laden ground, where it was promptly ground in by a giant ped.

Factions be damned. He would continue where he had left off, as any good scientist should.

Carrying forth Starscream's body in his sheltering arms, he set out with a new purpose in mind. A proper funeral would be held, and even while there may only be one in attendance, to Starscream, he knew that he was the only one that really mattered.


End file.
